Ever have problems installing SSL certificates on a Windows-based PC?
Depending on the operating system and the browser that is installed, it can be a nightmare.
On Windows 98/ME, it is usually done with Internet Explorer. On Windows 2000 and XP,
there are two distinctive SSL key stores.
One is the machine level and the other is for the individual users.
In addition, there can be a Java-based key store.
Why don't we have a single place where we can manage all of these certificates?
If you are using Client Access Express or iSeries Access to set up SSL or SSL over VPN,
there is a little known and less-documented utility that will allow you to
directly manage all of these stores and certificates.

One of the wierdest as400 / iSeries Client Access PC5250 errors is the CWBLM0029 error. This prevents users from logging onto an i5, iSeries, or
AS/400 machine, providing the wierd message message,
"CWBLM0029--The product or release level is incorrect for 5769XE1."
Needless to say, this isn't very helpful.

Because it's a mature product,
PC5250 has a number of built-in features that the savvy administrator can use to
keep his users happy, as well as to make his own life a little easier.
Here's a quick list of five handy PC5250 tricks that are useful in an AS/400 shop.
All of these tricks were tested with Client Access Express for Windows V5R1M0,
but many of these features are also available with other versions of the product.
Starting a PC5250 Macro or a Script After PC5250 Session Starts
Copying Multiple PC5250 Screens to Windows Clipboard
aRetain PC5250 Screen and Columnar Formatting When Pasting Screen Information
into Another Document
Make PC5250 Windows Look Like a Dumb Terminal
Changing Font Attributes PC5250 Uses to Print Screen Shots

The PC5250 program that comes with iSeries Access for Windows is a mature
product that IBM has packed a ton of features into over the years.
This week's "Admin Alert" takes a look at four under-used PC5250 features in
iSeries Access for Windows V5R2M0 to see how they can help OS/400 users
HIDING A PC5250 SESSION FROM WINDOWS
CREATING 3-D HOTSPOTS FOR FUNCTION KEYS
STARTING ISERIES ACCESS DATA TRANSFER FROM PC5250
VIEWING MESSAGES IN STATUS BAR HISTORY

My problem was that, when I used the 5250 green-screen emulator of iSeries
Access (F.K.A. Client Access) in the office (with a direct connection to the
office LAN, it was very reliable).
When I used it from home, with 2 firewalls, 2 ISPs and the entire Internet
between me and my iSeries machine, I had problems.
The problem was that, every time I stopped entering commands for any
significant interval (telephone call, scratch-my-head time, coffee, etc.)
all my 5250 sessions got disconnected. I had pretty-much given-up on IBM's
emulator and switched to Mochasoft because that emulator has an option to use
a TCP/IP “keepalive”. The reason that it worked and IBM's did not was that,
with many routers and paths between me and my iSeries, whenever a “long”
interval of no activity occurred, some one of them would surmise that the
connection had been abandoned. The iSeries responded by disconnecting and
then canceling my interactive job.

Have you ever wished you could upload a spreadsheet directly from Microsoft*
Excel to an iSeries database file? Client Access Express now provides an
enhanced Excel data transfer add-in that allows data to be transferred
directly from an Excel spreadsheet to an iSeries database file.

Prior versions of Client Access (both Client Access Express and Client
Access for Windows* 95/NT*) provided add-in module for Excel data transfer, CWBTFXLA.XLL, which enabled the facilty to perform a direct download of data from an as400 database file to an Excel spreadsheet.

From V5R1, Client Access now provides a data transfer add-in that can
perform direct uploads of spreadsheet data to the as400.

The new AS/400-to-PC transfer request
Start a transfer by selecting the Data Transfer from AS400 program in the
AS400 Client Access Express program group. Note, this is a separate installable
option of Client Access, so if you can't find the Data Transfer from AS400
program in the AS400 Client Access Express program group, you will probably
need to install it.